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I had his number but I dropped my phone.

I've never liked you.

Every time the Riders lose an angel gets its wings.

Winnipeg Blue Bomber CHATTER 🏈Brad H. Arrison · · Above and beyond: Blue Bombers’ hopeful gives new life to six-year-old strangerPaul Friesen Growing up in Tucson, Ariz., Stevie Rocker, Jr., never thought he’d be playing college football in Montana or trying out for a pro team in Manitoba. Those are mere footnotes compared to the impact the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hopeful is having on a young boy in Argentina. Just over a year ago, the 23-year-old running back donated bone marrow to save the life of a kid he’s never met. “I was told I was helping a kid who had a really bad bone problem, and I’m pretty much his last hope,” Rocker said in a chat with the Winnipeg Sun on Monday. “If nothing goes through, he’s going to have to live in a hospital for the rest of his life, which wasn’t very long.” Rocker had signed up for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) at the University of Montana. It began with a simple cheek swab, putting him into a database that connects him with potential matches. A blood test to find a true match was next. “Ninety percent of people, when they do it, they’re blood (stem cell) donations,” he said. “And blood donations for older people. So you expect that when you’re going in. But they were telling me, ‘You’re part of the 10 percent. You’re doing a bone-marrow donation.” That meant more of a surgical procedure, being put under instead of simply being hooked up to an IV. After completing reams of paperwork and having more blood drawn, Rocker and his girlfriend flew to Kansas City, where he had more blood draws the day before hitting the operating table. Doctors were to drill into and extract the marrow from the hip bones in his lower back. “They were telling me it was a 30- to 45-minute procedure,” he recalled. “And it ended up being two-and-a-half hours. Because they didn’t know that I was an athlete, my bone density is a little harder. So it took a lot longer for them to drill into the back.” Rocker will never forget the date: April 26. The pain – he compared it to being hit in the back without pads on – went away in a week or two. The feeling in his heart isn’t going anywhere. “This kid’s six years old,” Rocker said. “He hasn’t really had a chance to even see the world, have an opportunity to even live out his own dreams. I play football. I’ll deal with the back pain if it’s a chance to give this kid an opportunity to live, have a life, and not worry about having procedures and being in the hospital. “Just an opportunity for him and his family to be together and get out of there.” So far, the only thing Rocker knows about the boy is his age and that he’s from Argentina. He may eventually be told a little more. “That’s all I’m hoping,” he said. “Just one day, I can at least reach out just to know they’re doing alright.” Meeting his donor recipient would be the ultimate. As for living his own dream, Rocker got that call four days before the Bombers opened rookie camp. He knew the Canadian game had bigger end zones with goal posts in the front and an extra man on the field, and that was about it. He was as naive about the country in general. “When I was leaving Arizona, we were in the 90s already,” he said. “I come out here and I seen snow the first day of rookie camp. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ Canada was something I always thought would be a visiting destination, not a place I’d end up living for a while.” Rocker not only survived the three-day rookie camp, but he also hit Day 9 of main camp on Monday. “And here I am. It’s an awesome opportunity,” he said. “Just feeling appreciated, knowing that somebody’s looking at you in a different light.” Coaches will, of course, be looking to see how good the 6-foot-0, 220-pounder is as a running back, receiver, blocker and potential special-teams player. Hearing his backstory, they’ll immediately get a handle on him as a person. “We try to fill our room with good people,” head coach Mike O’Shea said. “That would obviously be the sign of being a great person.” Asked about the origin of his willingness to go the extra mile to help someone he doesn’t even know, Rocker pointed to his upbringing in Tucson. “You just learn about being kind to people in general,” is how he put it. “God always gives you an opportunity just to show the kind of person you are, regardless of how big or small. You never want to pass up that opportunity, because you never know how that’ll reach somebody else. “Saying my story may reach out to somebody else who’s on the fence of wanting to do it.” Rocker would love nothing more than to make this team and get to know Winnipeg a little better. He likes the little taste he’s had. If he’s cut, though, he’ll take some invaluable things with him, like lessons he’s already learned from star tailback Brady Oliveira, along with tips from other players and coaches. Something else he carries with him wherever he goes is a reminder of the selfless decision he made, an act he’ll hold closer to his heart than any football. “I’ve got two little scars on my back,” he said. “I’ll have those forever.”

🧠: CFL preseason means nothing, it's just nice to have football back. 💙: YEHAW RIDERS LOSE! 🎉 🎉 🎉

He'd probably drop the phone if we called.

I like the extra games...sure the meat of the season may seem redundant...but also can consider it a kinda season long round robin type thing to seed all the teams. The absolute worst team really has no business being in the post season picture, and some of the lesser's a lot of times just run out of time, and were constantly improving...a lot of time due to new coaching and systems/players taking a while to gel...so now they get that extra little time. I can see it making for quite a few more meaningful games as some the lower ranked teams will be jockeying for seeding now...whereas before at times, especially in the east the top 2 teams had their spot secured by labor day, and the bottom 2 were totally just playing out the string....not now

Oy! Looks like we are down to scraping the bottom of the barrel again. Barring more injuries, we look to be ok but not dominant in the NI category. Anyone have Kamau Peterson's phone number?

Tachinsky was with Edmonton and just released a couple days ago so they couldn't have brought him in until now. Britton already retired again so it doesn't say much about him. Jack is a 7th round pick so I'm not sure expectations were all that high (and I'm sure the expectations for these 3 new signings are about the same).

very good chance. Maybe acl, or some critical hammy tear, but probably achilles. I kinda of get it with jsk. flyer on a guy we know well at a position that isn’t a need. High upside, fairly low risk. So long as we didn’t give him a massive upfront bonus. It would be nice to dive in on the younger guys that’s never been our mo.

Achilles, perhaps? JSK played in the CFL for over a decade. Why can't we go after younger free agents? We ran into the same problem when we signed thirty plus receivers. Most of them were busts here because of injuries. What a waste of free agent resources.

The camp coverage has been bad for years, media coverage is even worse. The only guy who asks tough questions is the one guy who shouldn’t (Friesen) and the rest of them just lob softballs. Looking forward to seeing some preseason action to see who stands out but not going to read much into it either. I’d like to see Burrell, Fletcher, Fredericksen, Pace, Addison as newcomers who seem like they could at least be something. Curious to see Nuer and Daniels in game situations too, they don’t strike me as the types to pop in practice. Overall, just excited to have football back.

A real champ over achiever. I loved that guy, soo much heart and just played his ass off. You can really see that trend in our D too. Smith, shay, ayers, and woodbey for starters. We have some other big dbs who are sam tweeners too. The secondary and second level have soo many guys that are modular and can play many roles from many alignments. The athleticism of our canadian defensive back ups is really tremendous too. We’ve gone from those guys being the outliers and massive luxuries to that being the barrier for entry. Most all the those candian D subs are not just athletic outliers, but they are tough nasty hard nosed football players. Not just pile of cross over athletes trying to make a go of it. That versatile athletic canadian defensive back up core, is going to be a major back bone to our defensive success this year and going forward.

How would Jabari Arthur factor into this conversation?

and sadly what went on here last yr...is the cause of a career that was ruined...we rushed him back due to poor recruiting, then allowed him to keep going on a re-injured knee, again due to poor depth and poor judgement.....sad He was a good signing and at good value...BUT we should have had the foresight to not consider him until at least Labour day/BB and allow him a good 14..15 months of recovery and eased him in in a rotational capacity....He'd be still playing today and likely going into this yr back to pre-injury Schoen as that specific injury tho you can come back within the yr...the player doesnt truly become 100 percent the former player until the second yr post surgery Imagine having 100 percent Schoen this season with White...Pokey...Demski and a Neild/Clercius combo...His when healthy 1300+ yards and 13 td's per season average sure would look nice right about now at 29 yrs old Man we sure screwed that whole situation up...basically due to piss poor rostering and recruiting

Schoen will likely never see a pro football field again. There is absolutely no way he's part of any teams plan.

The plan of hoping and praying that Schoen can make a miracle return to improve our WR room seems sadly likely.

Almost like it would have been a better pick to grab a receiver who can play instead of a guy who is basically a weak OL with some slightly advanced catching ability if the D ignores him in the 2nd round. IMO we are boned ratio wise if any of the following go down with significant injuries: Oliviera, Demski, any Canadian OL, Kramdi We basically don't have the Canadians on O to even absorb those injuries long-term if something happened. Like even if we wanted to flip to 4 Canadian OL...we don't have them in the building. Pretty close to the same situation at receiver. If we needed to flip to an American RB, our roster would be a mess.

Tachinsky was with the Elks. Just released late last week.

depth in terms of bodies PERHAPS...but that.doesn't really translate to depth that can actually play. If we go away from a traditional 5 receiever set on occasion it will likely be more of a hybrid te/slot usage with MCI and at times Daniels....Could see many plays where BO moves out spit wide with MCI in backfield ir 2 back sets where one is in motion in some capacity. Demski/Neild/Clercius is a good trio to start 2 canadians with nice depth with the 3rd guy for injury and or some rotational packages....and then Cobb as bottom roster depth to cover the 3rd guy if injury happens, as he has returner use, and can do several things on offence is the logical choice, especially with Daniels here now, and the continued development of MCI. Corcorran should not be on roster...he is a non factor on teams in any way...blocking pales in comparison to Neild and Clercius...and now Daniels and is lomited in his routes and doing anything with the ball. Denmark could cut and change routes at speed without gearing down, and then actually shift into a higher gear after the catch...or to track a ball...thats what made him so good we sorely lacking any kind of big play guy outside the 3 main incumbents. Neild and Clercius are more possession guys and reliable chain movers....we need a legit burner or big athletic freak that will just bully DB's and win contested balls and garner attention. What I witnessed at camp is less than inspiring right now. Hopefully the pre-season games unearth a gem, but not sure who that will be yet Going with a pedestrian Canadian who will basically just be a guy out there taking up a position and eating reps but have no real impact on anything, let alone be a threat ain't doing ZC any help.

I’ve watched it on the nfl network we get for free here. Apparently they draw good tv numbers. Not cfl numbers but more than nhl mls pWHL and some other leagues they say. On average. It’s about 650k ish, not bad. But not overly good but with tv and streaming loving live events and sports, they prob stick around longer than ppl think. Aew wrestling draws about that on average maybe less and WBD were happy over 500k. I think 500k viewers is the breaking point. Get below that and you prob won’t last long. UFL at 650k prob means they last a while. Most teams draw 15k but ppl in the markets are watching on tv. Ppl don’t go to games but they watch. It’s interesting. It’s like a league of Toronto where they draw lots of viewers on tv but they don’t go to the games. Perhaps the stigma of being associated with minor league football plays a role. They aren’t pretending to be the nfl tho.

within another yr...maybe 2...UFL will be gone like a fart in the wind....

Korn and Schmek both get cut on other teams.

Faaaaaack... People ***** but he was a more than adequate back up at NI DT. Who's next up.... Time for Fatboi to strap em back on? :)

2nd best game each week is toronto level attendance. Meanwhile the st. louis games are in line with the 3rd best drawing team in a bad week. St. louis is the only real drawing team. Most of the 10k attendance claims week to week are free tickets that don’t even get used. a big chunk of ufl games are only attended by friends, family, and 100 or less fans

We never learn from past mistakes. From playing up to 10 Canadian starters for no reason other than to get an extra second round pick to signing older veteran free agent players, these were the criticisms of Walters & Osh before. Nothing's really changed other than someone setting Walter's alarm this season so he didn't sleep thru free agency on Day 1 . Of course, we knew these criticisms last year when their contracts were expiring.

Winnipeg Blue BombersBlue Bombers Training Camp | Day 9 - Winnipeg Blue BombersDay after day after day during Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp one scene has repeated over and over again: receiver Christian Frederickson making at least one ‘Oh, wow’ reception. “He’s done extre Definitely intrigued now about Fredrickson... At that size, generally, if he was any good he'd be in The League... But I'm definitely cheering for him.

It's the crown jewel of the sovereign republic of alberta

Link from my nephew re camp video Stuart #7 For anyone interested. Not rooting for - just familiar with his play and think projects well.

Gabe Wallace apparently started camp last year at 345 and ballooned as the season went on. This year, he's apparently come into camp at 325 after undergoing a strict offseason regimen. Neufeld says he's one of the strongest/most powerful guys he's ever seen.

It makes sense, since the new play off format makes the regular season an extended pre season. Ok its not that bad, its just 18 games play off seeding now. It reminds me of the "season doesn't start till LD" mantra of the past. Where the first 1/3-1/2 of the season was like spring baseball.

I wonder if they figure Schoen will be back sometime this year.... I certainly wouldn't be banking on that, but I'm curious if that is somehow in the plans.

We are doing better than last year. Pokey and White are a huge improvement over Wheatfall and a broken Schoen. Week 5 (I think) it was Wheatfall and Cody Case, Sterns...the big thing for this year is that Demski can be our #3 receiver. But your point still stands, though a bit preemptive: we need to find new game breaking receivers. Looks like Frederickson and Singer are making plays in camp. But in general, it's been shown time and time again that us fans miss who is really looking good. I wouldn't be surprised if we pick up another teams cuts, maybe at receiver or depth o line as an insurance policy.

I mean purely from a numbers standpoint it seems like they are barely trying. Aside from White and Pokey there are only 5 American receivers in camp. That is unheard of for a CFL training camp. One of them (TJ Davis) played quarterback in college. It looks like it's basically Dorian Singer and Christian Fredericksen competing for a spot on the practice roster.

Man, if we go into the season having failed, again, to find anyone worth playing receiver....

I'm a fan of cold weather games so I don't love the season up. However, I believe the league wants more nice weather games late in the year. Basically they'd rather have **** weather now, instead of week 21.

Just like communism, having a league run like it's a central committee in Moscow with no team GM's or scouting positions... everything run out of one head office ... one guy making all the decisions just does not work. The teams can't respond to unique local needs of the fans. It's no wonder the UFL is struggling. There's no connection to any local markets.

expansion out of desperation. trying to expand to stave off the league dying. changes 2 years out when the league is at best year to year is beyond a hail mary

I am hopeful that the billionaire who owns the league calls it a day. I thought it was bad up here in the CFL from week to week but the UFL has taken attendance futility down to another level. And the UFL is announcing expansion teams??? Lol.

woo hoo football!!! For pre-season I'm pretty impressed with the quality. Just so happy to be watching my favorite sport, even if its two teams I despise. 👍

Yes it's only pre season, and yes it's only Stamps hosting Gappers, but we officially have 2026 CFL football today .. by gar it's been awhile. Also, the "broadcast", if you want to call it that, is on the CFL website...

Yeah watching some the one on one drills today u definitely see his power when he locked into his guy...guys a beast. And he is noticeably more agile Big Stan looked good..as Usual...hard to imagine he pushing 40...If he is even 80 percent of prime Stan him and Broxton gonna be a force

He needed to drop weight and it should show up on the field. I think he will take a huge step forward this season.

Can't read too much into a couple of reported reps. Every DE ever gets swallowed up and heck of a lot more than they dominate. All QBs would be in the hospital if this weren't the case. He will definitely be rotational for all this season though. The last two really good NAT DE's I have in recent memory are Ricky Foley and Mathieu Betts and both were rotational until year 3 of their careers.

It has been confirmed in recent interviews and reports that the coordinators decide who starts and where and that OSH fills the rest of the game day roster. Bottom line is that it is still OSH's responsibility, but his coordinators have much more say than you are suggesting. I agree that we should start the minimum number of NATs as possible unless some guys really truly win the job that happen to be NATs.

Yep. Id hope that means Allen sides back to corner, Or that Griffin does. DB is going to see some really tough cuts. WIth a DI used at Lber for teams, K, and KR, the last spot really should be on the DL if not a WR. But we also have Allen, Woodbey, and Griffin with out a roster spot in that case. I love Ayers, but Woodbey can do soo much more on D. And Griffin is an excellent db. I wouldn't want to lose either for Ayers. Maybe not even Allen given the volume of league starters and NI talent we have at Lber. I dont think we can translate camp to final roster intentions with the mafia, and it's still early. I think health and who is willing to sit on the PR will dictate a lot of what we do breaking camp.

Best place for him really...He can come down in support and be over the top help....and survey the defence...At SAM he is not ideal and was horrible in coverage and isnt the best tackler....he's good in the scrum and crashing into the box...but that can be incorporated from a safety role...especially when we tend to run a strong and free safety kinda set up You want one your best all around guys, Guys who can cover 1 on 1 and are strong tacklers and can get off blocks....Kramdi ain't that